The invention is a system for programming wireless subscriber terminals (WST's) using a broadcast channel of a wireless communication system. In accordance with the invention, a control program, for controlling operation of the WST, is updated using a series of messages transmitted from a base station over a broadcast control channel to one or more WST's simultaneously. Each message in the series contains a segment of the control program, and the series of messages is interleaved with other control data on the broadcast control channel in order to avoid interference with other call activities. When a WST identifies a message as containing a control program segment, the WST stores the segment. Once a complete control program has been received, control of the WST can be transferred to the new control program. Receipt of the broadcast transmission is subject to interruption for a variety of reasons, e.g., a WST is powered off, a WST moves outside the range of a base station, other radio signals or noise interfere with the broadcast signal, or a call is received by a WST, which then transfers to a voice channel. Thus the base station arbitrates the re-transmission of missing program segments by polling individual WST's using control channels, and retransmitting missing segments. The system also preferably provides non-volatile storage of a partial program within each WST so that the WST's need not receive an entire program in a single session.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method for programming wireless subscriber terminals in a wireless system, the wireless system having a base station in wireless communication with the wireless subscriber terminals using one or more control channels and multiple traffic channels, and each wireless subscriber terminal having a memory, a non-volatile memory, a processor to control operation of the wireless subscriber terminal, the method comprising the steps of: A. transmitting from the base station over a point-to-point channel to wireless subscriber terminals information about a new control program including in said information, a number of blocks and a block-size for a firmware image representing said new control program; B. transmitting a response from each individual wireless subscriber terminal over a point-to-point channel to the base station indicating whether that terminal will be a recipient of the new control program; C. broadcasting the new control program in a series of identified blocks of data from the base station to the recipient terminals over a control channel for each block in the firmware image; D. polling all of the recipient terminals by the base station over a point-to-point channel to determine the transfer status of all blocks of the new control program at each recipient terminal; E. transmitting a status message from each recipient terminal to the base station indicating the status of the reception of the new control program including information about how many blocks were received of said firmware image and/or a range of blocks missing; F. re-transmitting select missing data blocks to each recipient terminal in response to the individual status messages sent from each recipient terminal that indicate an incomplete transmission and the specific data blocks needed; and G. transferring control of each recipient terminal to said new control program.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of re-transmitting occurs over one or more point-to-point control channels.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of re-transmitting occurs over one or more broadcast control channels.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transferring control involves performing a series of diagnostic tests at each recipient wireless subscriber terminal to determine the validity of the new control program received at that wireless subscriber terminal.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of storing each program segment received in a block of data by the recipient wireless subscriber terminal in the non-volatile memory of the wireless subscriber terminal, whereby the wireless subscriber terminal retains all received program segments if reception of program segments by the wireless subscriber terminal is interrupted.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of storing a pre-existing control program in non-volatile memory after transferring control of the processor to the new control program.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the pre-existing control program and the new control program each comprise a software patch for controlling less than all of the operations of the wireless subscriber terminal.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless subscriber terminal is a cellular phone.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless subscriber terminal is a terminal of a wireless local loop.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of transferring control to the new control program is forced by the base station during the step of initializing each wireless sub-scriber terminal.
11. A system for programming wireless subscriber terminals, the system comprising: a base station, the base station having a memory; a control program stored in the memory of the base station; one or more wireless subscriber terminals in wireless communication with the base station over an air interface, the air interface comprising a plurality of traffic channels and a plurality of control channels; means for transmitting from the base station over a point-to-point channel to wireless subscriber terminals information about a new control program including in said information, a number of blocks and a block-size for a firmware image representing the new control program; means for transmitting a response from each individual wireless subscriber terminal over a point-to-point channel to the base station indicating whether that terminal will be a recipient of the new control program; means for broadcasting the new control program in a series of identified blocks of data from the base station to the recipient terminals over a control channel for each block in the firmware image; means for polling all of the recipient terminals by the base station over a point-to-point channel to determine the transfer status of all blocks of the new control program at each recipient terminal; means for transmitting a status message from each recipient terminal to the base station over a control channel indicating the status of the reception of the new control program including information about how many blocks were received and/or a range of blocks missing; means for re-transmitting select missing data blocks to each recipient terminal in response to the individual status messages sent from each recipient terminal indicating an incomplete transmission and the specific data blocks needed; and means for transferring control of each recipient terminal to said new control program.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more wireless subscriber terminals comprise cellular phone handsets.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more wireless subscriber terminals comprise wireless local loop terminals.
14. A base station for programming one or more wireless subscriber terminals in a wireless system, the base station comprising: a memory; a control program stored in the memory as one or more program segments; a transmitter for transmitting point-to-point forward messages to wireless subscriber terminals including information about a new control program over an air interface, and broadcast forward messages to recipient terminals including a series of identified broadcast firmware block messages including individual blocks of a firmware image which together form a new control program, and forward messages including polling inquiries to recipient terminals over a control channel about the transfer of a new control program to recipient terminals and including the one or more program segments stored in the memory that can be selectively transmitted without regard to sequence; a receiver for receiving reverse messages from wireless subscriber terminals over the air interface, including one or more status messages from recipient terminals over a point-to-point control channel including a response from each individual terminal to said base station indicating whether the terminal will be a recipient of the new control program, and messages indicating the status of the reception of all blocks of said firmware image representing said a new control program, or portion thereof; and a processor connected to the memory, the transmitter, and the receiver for controlling operation of the base station.
15. The base station of claim 14 , the forward messages including broadcast firmware start messages and the reverse messages including broadcast firmware start response messages.
16. The base station of claim 14 , the forward messages including broadcast firmware status request messages and the reverse messages including broadcast firmware status messages.
17. The base station of claim 14 , the forward messages including firmware switch-over messages.
18. A method for operating a base station to program one or more wireless subscriber terminals in a wireless system, the method comprising the steps of: A. transmitting from the base station to wireless subscriber terminals information about a new control program, including in said information, a number of blocks and a block-size for a firmware image representing the new control program; B. receiving a response from each individual wireless subscriber terminal over a point-to-point channel to the base station indicating whether that terminal will be a recipient of the new control program; C. broadcasting the new control program in a series of identified blocks of data from the base station to the recipient terminals over a control channel for each block in the firmware image; D. polling all of the recipient terminals over a point-to-point channel to determine the transfer status of all blocks of the new control program at each recipient terminal; E. receiving a status message from each recipient terminal to the base station over a point-to-point channel indicating the status of the reception of the new control program, including information about how many blocks were received and/or a range of blocks missing; F. re-transmitting select missing data blocks to each recipient terminal in response to the individual status messages sent from each recipient terminal that indicates an incomplete transmission and the specific data blocks needed; and G. transferring control of each said recipient terminal to said new control program.
19. The method of claim 18 , the step of broadcasting further comprising the step of transmitting one or more broadcast firmware block messages over a broadcast channel.
20. A wireless subscriber terminal for use in a wireless system, the terminal comprising: a memory, a transmitter for transmitting reverse messages from the terminal over an air interface including one or more status messages over a point-to-point channel including transmitting a response to a base station indicating whether the terminal will be a recipient of a new control program and messages indicating the status of reception of a new control program, or portion thereof including information relating to missing data blocks from a program transfer; a receiver for receiving forward messages from a base station over a channel including point-to-point messages or broadcast messages of a firmware image includes a series of identified blocks of data that comprise the new control program, the forward messages including polling inquiries about the transfer of a new control program to the terminal and including messages concerning the one or more program segments irrespective of their sequence; and a processor connected to the memory, the transmitter, and the receiver for controlling the terminal, and for storing the one or more program segments in the memory.
21. The terminal of claim 20 wherein the forward messages include broadcast firmware start messages and the reverse messages include broadcast firmware start response messages.
22. The terminal of claim 20 wherein the forward messages include broadcast firmware status request messages and the reverse messages include broadcast firmware status messages.
23. The terminal of claim 20 wherein the forward messages include firmware switch-over messages.
24. The terminal of claim 20 wherein the forward messages including the one or more program segments are broadcast messages.
25. A method for operating a wireless subscriber terminal in a wireless system to receive a control program, the method comprising the steps of: A. receiving from the base station information about a new control program, including in said information, a number of blocks and a block size for a firmware image representing the new control program; B. transmitting a response from each individual wireless subscriber terminal over a point-to-point channel to the base station indicating whether that terminal will be a recipient of the new control program; C. receiving the new control program in a series of identified blocks of data through a broadcast from the base station at the recipient terminals; D. receiving a status request at all of the recipient terminals over a channel to determine the transfer status of the new control program at each recipient terminal, including information about how many blocks were received and/or a range of blocks missing; E. transmitting a status message from each recipient terminal to the base station over a control channel that indicates the status of the reception of the new control program and specific data blocks missing; F. re-receiving select missing data blocks at each recipient terminal from the base station in response to the individual status messages sent from each recipient terminal; and G. transferring control of each recipient terminal to said new control program.
26. The method of claim 25 , the step of receiving the new control program further comprising the step of receiving a plurality of firmware block messages over a broadcast channel.
27. The method of claim 25 , the step of transferring control further comprising the step of receiving a firmware switch-over message.
28. The method of claim 1 including transmitting from said base station said information about said new control program that includes at least one of the following: a hardware model; a mask number; a software version number; an ID number which uniquely identifies the transfer, and a force-transfer notification.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
April 30, 1999
April 26, 2005
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